# Wei Zi

Wei Zi (Chinese: 巍子; pinyin: Wēi Zǐ; born January 1956) is a Chinese film and television actor.

## Early life

Born and raised in Ningxia, he was originally named Wang Wei (Chinese: 王巍; pinyin: Wáng Wēi).

### Education

He graduated from the Ningxia College of Art in 1978 and was assigned to the Ningxia Repertory Theatre the same year.
In 1985, he was accepted to the Central Theatre Academy. It was one of the two higher educational institutions of modern theatre in entire China and highly professional coming only second to the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
In January 1989, Wei Zi was admitted to Beijing People's Art Theatre, a first-rate national theatre company of China where he was recognized as a National Class-A Actor (国家一级演员). He left BPAT in 1994.

## Career
### Early work

For his 1988 university graduation, it was required for the students to perform in a play entitled "Stories of Mulberry Village" based on Zhu Xiaoping's three novellas about hardship and struggles in a village in Northern China. Wei played the role of a lunatic farmer and received the highest score for his performance. Later the play went public and unprecedentedly was a huge success. People's Daily described it as "Turning a New Leaf of China's Modern Theatre" and senior authorities such as drama master and Beijing People's Art Theater president Cao Yu and vice-president of the Chinese Film Artists' Association Chen Huangmei who seldom seen in public events attended the performance. Wei was and won the Plum Blossom Award for the best performer in 1988.
Wei's first appearance in front of the camera dates back to 1989 when he acted in the "Ballad of the Yellow River", a film by the famous director Teng Wenji which describes the past lives of the people living along the old course of the Yellow River. It won the Best Director Award in the 14th Montréal World Film Festival . Their cooperation continued in 1996 with "The Conqueror" and "The Story of Xiangxiang" and again in 2005 with another Montréal World Film Festival nominee "Sunrise, Sunset",.

### Other activities

In 1992 he starred in his second movie "The Scientist Jiang Zhuying", a biographical based on the true life of Jiang Zhuying for which he was nominated for a best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards. The film itself was awarded the Best Feature Film Prize by the Ministry of Radio, Film, and Television . The same year Wei Zi appeared in his first TV drama entitled "Qing Man Zhu Jiang". In 1994 he was nominated again for the best actor award at the Golden Rooster Awards for his notable performance in the movie "Stay in the Village".
In 2000, China Central Television (CCTV) decided to produce a mainland adaptation of one of Jin Yong's Wuxia novels entitled The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. Wei Zi was offered the role of the negative character of the novel Yue Buqun because the director Huang Jianzhong believed that he was the only one who could perform that difficult character very well . At first Wei Zi showed no interest in it since it was a martial arts themed project but agreed to read the script. Upon reading the scenario he noticed the dual characteristics of the hypocrite Yue Buqun who was wearing a gentleman's face while a devil was hidden inside him. Wei Zi found this a challenging role and finally expressed his acceptance of doing it. His successful development of the character was received quite well by both the audience and the critics and paved the way more for his further presence in the TV dramas. "The Great Dunhuang", "The Red Merchant Hu Xue Yan", "Thrill", "Betrayal", "The World's First Restaurant" and "DA Division" are some of his other notable series in the 21st century.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1989 | Huanghe Yao 黄河谣 | Danggui |
| 1993 | The Scientist Jiang Zhuying 蒋筑英 | Jiang Zhuying |
| 1994 | Xiangxiang Renews Oil Vender 香香闹油坊 | He Dawang |
| 1994 | Conqueror 征服者 | |
| 1994 | The Day the Sun Turned Cold 天国逆子 | Lover |
| 1994 | Stay in Village 留村察看 | Jian Zheng |
| 1998 | Green Snake Assassin 青蛇杀手 | |
| 2005 | Sunrise, Sunset 日出日落 | |
| 2006 | Winter Waltz 冬天的华尔兹 | |
| 2013 | Crimes of Passion | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Qing Man Zhujiang 情满珠江 | Lin Bicheng | |
| 1994 | Fei Jia You Nü 费家有女 | | |
| 1995 | Beijing Shenqiu De Gushi 北京深秋的故事 | | also known as Dushi Ping'an Ye (都市平安夜) |
| 1997 | Thousand Years 百年沉浮 | Pei Yijiang | |
| 1998 | Shanghai Cangsang 上海沧桑 | Tang Tongshu | |
| 1998 | Fengyu Aomen 风雨澳门 | Li Jinyun | |
| 1999 | Bairi Zhuizong 百日追踪 | Wei Bingnan | |
| 1999 | Meiyou Jiayuan De Linghun 没有家园的灵魂 | Zhang Shaojie | |
| 1999 | Shengsi Jiaoliang 生死较量 | Yang Yisong | |
| 2000 | Laughing in the Wind 笑傲江湖 | Yue Buqun | |
| 2001 | Betrayal 背叛 | Song Yikun | |
| 2001 | Soft Pitfall 温柔陷阱 | Zhang Dawei | |
| 2001 | Feichang Jiechu 非常接触 | Lei Heping | |
| 2002 | DA Shi DA师 | Zhao Ziming | |
| 2002 | Days of Passion and Spirit 激情岁月 | Wei Yanzhou | |
| 2002 | The Price of Glory 刺虎 | Yongzheng Emperor | |
| 2003 | Wolong Xiao Zhuge 卧龙小诸葛 | | |
| 2003 | Hong Qi Pu 红旗谱 | Feng Guitang | |
| 2003 | Changping of the War 铁血长平 | Bai Qi | |
| 2003 | The World's First Restaurant 天下第一楼 | Lu Mengshi | |
| 2004 | Lihun Zai Hun 离婚再婚 | | also known as Nüren Buhao Re (女人不好惹) |
| 2004 | The Red Merchant Hu Xueyan 红顶商人胡雪岩 | Hu Xueyan | |
| 2005 | Blossom of Hibiscus Flowers 芙蓉花开 | Su Shilong | |
| 2005 | The Great Dunhuang 大敦煌 | Liang Moyan | |
| 2005 | Fanhei Shiming 反黑使命 | | |
| 2005 | Undercover Swordsman 剑出江南 | Prince of Ning | |
| 2006 | Weixian Guanxi 危险关系 | Su Shilong | |
| 2006 | Chuan Zheng Fengyun 船政风云 | Shen Baozhen | |
| 2006 | Xuese Shaji 血色杀机 | | |
| 2006 | Xuese Nianhua 血色年华 | | |
| 2007 | Wang Zhaojun 王昭君 | Shepherd | |
| 2007 | Shanghai Wang 上海王 | Chang Lixiong | |
| 2007 | Qinhuai Beige 秦淮悲歌 | Qian Muzhai | |
| 2007 | Menghui Chun Gu 梦回春谷 | Master Xie | |
| 2007 | Xuanfeng Bao 旋风暴 | Yan Zhanfei | also known as Canghai Yingxiong (沧海英雄) |
| 2007 | Thrill 心跳 | Zhou Zhilong | also known as Zhenfeng Xiangdui (针锋相对) |
| 2007 | Juechu Fengsheng 绝处逢生 | | also known as Chun Xia Qiu Dong (春夏秋冬) |
| 2008 | Lang Yan 狼烟 | Zhongtian Yingxiu | |
| 2008 | Tai'an Tang Yu Jing Chuanqi 太安堂玉井传奇 | Ke Yujing | |
| 2008 | Qiongtu Molu 穷途末路 | Zhang Shaojie | |
| 2008 | Xiongbing Chuji 雄兵出击 | | also known as Tejing Xiongfeng (特警雄风) |
| 2008 | Jinqu 禁区 | Xu Hangzhou | |
| 2009 | Tie Lihua 铁梨花 | Zhao Yuangeng | |
| 2009 | Dixia Dishang 地下地上 | Xu Yinchu | |
| 2010 | Jiang Jun 将·军 | Guo Jingyu | |
| 2010 | Shangri-La 香格里拉 | Lecangduoji | |
| 2011 | Journey to the West 西游记 | Jade Emperor | |
| 2012 | Chinese Traditional Magic 大戏法 | Shen Wankui | |
| 2013 | Dagougun 打狗棍 | Dai Tianli | |

## Notable Stage Performances

* Stories of Mulberry Village 《桑树坪纪事》 (1988)
* Tiger Tally 《虎符》

## Sources

* Fei, Faye C; William H. Sun (1994). ""Stories of Mulberry Village" and the End of Modern Chinese Theatre". TDR. 38 (2): 131–137. doi:10.2307/1146336. JSTOR 1146336.
* Xu, Linzheng (2005-08-10). "Late Bloomer Wei Zi: From the First Level Actor to Entrepreneur 巍子：从一级演员到个体户" (in Chinese). Sina. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
* "Wei Zi 巍子" (in Chinese). China Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
* "Wei Zi 巍子" (in Chinese). MdbChina. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.